New Poll - Christmas presents

It's located just over there on the right of the screen. Be honest...

Poll Results - Car Audio

Suprising!

Great recent posts from Lifehacker

Source: Lifehacker

• Feature: Breathe New Life into Your Old Gadgets
• Feature: Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
• Merry Christmahanukwanzaakkah: How to Set Up Your New Computer
• Open Source: Find Free, Open Apps at Open Source Living

SmallNetBuilder

SmallNetBuilder - Home
This is an awesome website for everything related to networking PC's. It features seven categories (Wireless, NAS, LANs and Routers, Multimedia, VoIP, Security and Everything Else). In each category, it features at least 5 information types (Reviews, News, HowTo's , Tutorials and Features). Additionally, it includes benchmark information for Wireless, NAS and LANs and Routers. This is an amazing resource.

Wine Still Life

We're at Wired and Fired and Amy is painting a bowl for a present. I didn't want to paint tonight, so I am enjoying the Beaujolais Nouveau. It's one of our favorites and it's only available for a short time each year. This bottle was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and his wife. We carried it over here in a neopreme wine carrier that was a gift from them as well.

New Server?

I have several PC's on the network here at home, but we really don't have the space for them. It's also not very energy efficient. I am considering getting a NAS system. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. This works very much as a dedicated storage server.

The one that I'm most interested in is the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini, which is available from Newegg for $181.99. For less than $200, this is quite a piece of technology. It includes an SMB (Server Message Block) server, an iTunes server, an AFP server (great for Amy's Powerbook), an FTP Server and others. It contains an 500GB hard drive, which is sufficient to back up our notebooks and other PC's and contain a share iTunes library available to any PC on our network. This will contain every CD and our favorite DVD's. The great thing about this particular NAS device is that it is expandable. It has a USB2 port to which you can attach external USB drives (of which I have several) that will enable us to have a terabyte of data.

Horses

Horses, originally uploaded by eschulz.

Another picture I took with my new camera (which I left in Alabama...)

Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas 2008, originally uploaded by eschulz.

Santa's exhausted...

I'm a published photographer!

So, they are making use of this picture, which you can see at their travel guide site

It's not one of my best, but it's nice to have the pictured honored like that.

The Last Man on Earth

Internet Archive: Details: The Last Man on Earth

Based on the chilling Richard Matheson science fiction Classic "I am Legend" and later remade as "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston, and also "I am Legend", starring Will Smith. This classic features Vincent Price as scientist Robert Morgan in a post apocalyptic nightmare world. The world has been consumed by a ravenous plague that has transformed humanity into a race of bloodthirsty vampires. Only Morgan proves immune, and becomes the solitary vampire slayer.

According to Wikipedia, this film is the most faithful of all three film adaptations and adheres fairly closely to the book.

Robot Guitar

Gibson calls it a Robot Guitar, but Automated Self-Tuning guitar is probably more accurate.

In case you get an iPod for Christmas...

• Feature: The 20 Best iPod Utilities
• Feature: The 23 Best iTunes Add-ons

Both of these are links to Lifehacker

New Camera

I got a great deal on a new camera. Since it was on sale, I got a bunch of accessories, including a couple of batteries and charger and a printer dock with ink and paper. It's gotten good reviews and I received it tonight. I can't wait to take some pics this weekend. It even shoots HD video and has a 12X zoom which should be great for shooting golf tournaments, piano recitals and beauty pageants, in case I ever have a need to take pictures at events like these.

Qty. Description Unit Price Extended Price
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 KODAK EASYSHARE Z812 IS Zoom $237.96 $237.96
Digital Camera, discount applied

1 KODAK EASYSHARE G610 Printer Dock, $67.96 $67.96
discount applied

1 KODAK Li-Ion Universal Battery $29.71 $29.71
Charger K7600-C, discount applied

2 KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital $25.46 $50.92
Camera Battery KLIC-8000, discount
applied

1 KODAK Photo Paper Kit / G-50, $21.24 $21.24
discount applied

1 KODAK SD Card / 2GB, discount $0.00 $0.00
applied

1 Order Discount -$100.00 -$100.00


Shipping & Handling: $16.50
----------
Sub-Total: $324.29
Tax*: $24.61
----------
This amount will be billed to your credit card Total: $348.90

Are these news stories related ?

Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's Sister, Is Pregnant - News Story(For those of you who don't know, this is Britney Spears' 16 year-old sister.)

Lynne Spears' Parenting Book Put On Indefinite Hold - News Story(For those of you who don't know, this is Britney and Jamie Lynn's mother)

You're right. It's probably just a coincidence.

gOS

Hack Attack: Turn Your Old PC into a Webapp Monster with gOS
I plan on trying this on an old PC sometime.

OPENhulu

OPENhulu - Watch TV Shows for FREE! This is the new TV-Links! Watch Hulu Videos without an invite!
This is a pretty awesome way to watch some TV shows.

2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

• Leonard Cohen
• The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denny Payton and Mike Smith)
• Madonna
• John Mellencamp
• The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson)

OMG! MY POPS STOLE MY BOYFRIEND

OMG! MY POPS STOLE MY BOYFRIEND, originally uploaded by eschulz.

Spotted at Pride Festival in Atlanta. Check out the bottom right corner of the cover.

Virgin Islands

Cruise 2007 181, originally uploaded by eschulz.

Taken from Paradise Point, St. Thomas, US Virgin Island. In the lower right hand corner, you can see the only two cruise ships I've ever been on. I think this is one of my better pictures ever.

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time - TIME

Complete List - The 50 Worst Cars of All Time - TIME
Obviously, General Motors vehicles are well represented, fully 20% of the list.

Petrino was never up to the job

Jeff Schultz: Petrino was never up to the job | Sports Columnists | ajc.com
Ouch! Arkansas will miss Houston Nutt.

Things you should know about your nerd

Rands In Repose: The Nerd Handbook

Rollup of Interesting links from the last month or so

From the MAKE: Blog:

• The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric

From Techbargains:

• Free: DriveImage XML - HD Backup/Restore/Copy

From FreewareGenius:

• iTunes Art Importer
  

From ZDNet:

• The $363 19-inch dual-core all-in-one LCD PC

From Lifehacker:

• Hack Attack: Six Ways to Catch Your Favorite TV Show

• Lifehacker Top 10: Top 10 Ways to Sleep Smarter and Better

• Featured Windows Mobile Download: Add Tabs To IE Mobile With Web Viewer

• Step By Step: Share Your Mac's Printer with Windows Without Samba

• Hack Attack: The Power Traveler's Checklist, Part One: Pre-Flight

• Geek To Live: The Complete Guide to Mac/Windows Interoperability

• Telephony: Get Free VoIP In-Calling Anywhere with GrandCentral and Gizmo Project

• Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters [Lifehacker Top 10]

• Get It Done on the Go with Floppy Office [Featured Windows Download]

How to use a Bluetooth GPS with a Motorola Q

buyGPSnow.com Community - Setting up Bluetooth GPS with Motorola Q

Bluetooth GPS's have gotten inexpensive recently. I bought a GlobalSat BT-328, but was initially unable to use it with my Verizon Motorola Q, because of Verizon disabling the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile. These instructions worked to get past that problem.

The GPS receiver is about the size of a Zippo lighter. Since it's Bluetooth, it requires no cable to the Q. Now when I use Google Maps Mobile and ask for directions, I can use my current location as the starting point. This should be very helpful as we start looking at houses to purchase.

What happens below E...

The big gray beast was thirsty!

What a view...

We are celebrating Thanksgiving at relatives and this is a tiny portion of the view from their back porch.

Table at airport

This is the edge of a table at Hobby Airport. If you look closely, you should be able to see that it has regular power outlets for charging you laptop and USB power outlets for charging cell phones and MP3 players. I've never seen this before in a public place.

Best meal ever (in an airport)

Pappas Burger. I assume this is the same company that brought you Pappas Seafood Kitchen, Pappadeaux, Pappasito's and Pappas BBQ. This wasn't like airport food at all.

Just dropped off the rental...

We thought it was gonna be a Grand Cherokee, but it turned out to be a Jeep Commander. We liked it and it served us well. There was just one problem; There was only a slot for the key on the driver's door and no keyless entry. It always made it inconvenient to get in the passenger side or the liftgate.

When in Austin...

..., you gotta see some live music. We're just hangin' out at Club 115 listening to Jabarvy. They kick ass...

Welcome to Houston

It certainly felt welcoming. We got off the plane and they were blasting Clint Black in the terminal. Amy's gettng the rental car (Jeep Grand Cherokee) while I wait at baggage claim for our luggage. We should be at Chuy's in 45 minutes.

Yep it's a bride...

We're just sitting at a sports bar (Jocks and Jills) watching the Auburn game and there's an entire wedding party here. What's up with that?

Aston Martin Vantage

Snapped inside Lenox Mall in Atlanta during Christmas shopping outing...

New Poll - Car Audio

It's located just over there on the right of the screen. Keep in mind that this is in your car, not your spouse's!

Poll Results - Auburn Game

I assume that the four that didn't make it live in Texas...

I don't know all of these

25 Skills Every Man Should Know - Essential DIY - Popular Mechanics

My favorite obscure 70's song

The song is Mirror Star by The Fabulous Poodles. They were way ahead of their time; this looks like an obscure 80's song.

Auburn won

Toomer's Corner got rolled when Auburn beat Ole Miss 17-3.

New Poll - Auburn Game

It's located just over there on the right of the screen. I will try to publish a new one occasionally. Once the results are tallied, I will publish them in a new blog post. I'm bringing in a whole new level of audience participation to Does the fun ever start? Thanks for your support!

Pregame waiting

The crowd goes wild.

One again on the field...

Pat Dye Field is an awesome place to be on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Tailgating in Auburn...

The fire feels good. It's got everybody hip-mo-tized.

McCurdy takes Terrapin Hills

Check out the article at SJGT.com. Be sure and note that Will is tied for first place in the SJGT point standings.

Terrapin Hills (Day 2)

We're back for day 2. Will is one under after 12 holes. He has quite an entourage again today. This is an awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I still have almost no desire to play the game.

Terrapin Hills

Today we are all watching Will compete in the SJGT tournament at Terrapin Hills. He is 3 under after 10.

Go Dawgs!

You may wonder:

1. Why did he title a blog post after the University of Georgia's war cry on a day when Auburn is playing LSU ?
2. Why did he put a picture of a cat on blog post that is titled with a canine, rather than feline, theme.

Well, the answer to both is simple. Our cat, Sabrina, is very ill and the the doctors at Intown Animal Hospital referred us to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Yesterday, Amy drove Sabrina to Athens and she spent the night in the Intensive Care Unit. She was found to be anemic and hasn't eaten since Wednesday. She is in danger of a couple of life-threatening conditions and we want to be sure that we do the right thing by Sabrina.

She's been in our lives for 8.5 years. Amy and I picked her out together after we had been dating for about 5-6 months. We got her in February or March of 1999 and has lived with me (and later us) ever since. She was about a year old when we got her, so her tenth birthday is not far off. Please say a prayer or hold a good thought for the next few days.

If you have Verizon Cellular service

Slashdot | Verizon Wireless Opt-Out Plan For Customer Records
Verizon is giving away some information about you...
I'm going to call and opt out.

The 100 Greatest TV Characters

The 100 Greatest TV Characters: Famous Television Stars and Pop Icons - Official Bravo TV Site

BCS Standings are available

FOX Sports on MSN - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - PollsAuburn is ranked at 17 and next week's opponent, LSU, is ranked number 4. It's gonna be another tough game on Saturday.

My next vehicle

It doesn't currently exist (and never has), but I hope that changes in the next couple of years. What I want is a compact pickup powered by diesel hybrid powerplant. This should get 30 miles to the gallon and still provide a usable truck bed.

Alabama Park

As most of my loyal readers know, Amy shares her hometown with the band Alabama (most of my loyal readers are from this same hometown). The band has done much for the city of Fort Payne and they are being honored at this city park. The entrance is very nice. Last week, my mother and I went for a walk on the sidewalks inside the park. There is a small pavilion with a BBQ grill and picnic tables.

Auburn vs Florida 2007

Crazy Dice Stacking

You gotta see this to believe it!

Christmas in September?

This was a picture I took Wednesday night at Target. Within five feet of where I was standing, I saw Christmas stuff, Halloween stuff and back-to-school items. The picture is crazy blurry, but I thought it was interesting enough to bbe included here.

Celebrity Sighting

Last night, at the Braves game (we won), I saw and greeted Bernie Marcus. He and Arthur Blank founded The Home Depot in 1978. Less than thirty years later, The Home Depot employs 355,000 associates.

Another Braves game ?

I swear this isn't turning into a sports blog. We're here to see the Brewers and Braves.

Now I'm gonna see if I'm Brave enough to order a Brew.

Auburn to go with two-QB system

SI.com - NCAA Football - Struggling Auburn to go with two-QB system - Tuesday September 18, 2007 5:57PM

Welcome to Turner Field...

I won tickets at work, so Amy and I are here tonight to see the Braves play the Florida Marlins. We thought we had executive box seats, but they're just seats. They're about twelve rows behind Charles and Rosalie, who are also here tonight.

Root, root, root for the home team!

Standing on Pat Dye Field...

This is quite an honor. I've never felt anything likle this before. I'm here because Will invited me.

Tiger Walk!

Amy, Susan, Hunter, Will and I are at Auburn to see them beat the Bulls. More info as it becomes available...

Good luck, Michael Righi!

Nearly three years ago, I mentioned on this blog that it is possible to avoid the receipt checkers at Fry's. I continue to avoid showing my receipt when leaving a store. If they ask me to show it a second time, I always let them. Here's a great story about a guy that refused to and the trouble he got into. I'm sure that his lawsuit(s) will be successful.

The Flying Biscuit

Recipes from the The Flying Biscuit

Waste of money

City workers baby-sit huge hole in the ground | ajc.com:

For the past year, at least two Atlanta city workers have sat in a parked truck 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a lot on a hill overlooking the Midtown Place shopping center.

At a cost of untold thousands of public dollars, they sat, watched DVDs and ate fried chicken as they baby-sat a hole in the ground for which no one wants to take responsibility.

City workers have been sitting by the hole around the clock in case a big pump has to be turned on. Officials say they are unable to estimate how much the watch operation has cost.

Best Heart cover band ever...

Gretchen Wilson & Alice in Chains perform "Barracuda" with Nancy Wilson at the VH1 Rock Honors.

Black Crowes tonight!

Tonight, Amy and I are at Chastain Park to see the Black Crowes. We don't know if there's an opening band, and we have about 30 minutes before the show starts. It's a rain or shine show and it looks like there ain't gonna be no shine.

We have anaraks and I have a Foster's oil can ($8), so we're ready for whatever weather we get.

Saying goodbye ...

The organist and choir director of our new church home is moving to Denmark and tonight he put together an evening of beautiful music. Amy was the best singer in the choir (of course).

Gene Simmons as a photographer?

Gene Simmons and longtime girlfriend, Shannon Tweed (former Playmate) act as celebrity photographers ans snap Playboy Playmate. (It's just a link to the article, not the pictures).

Paul Stanley in Atlanta

In October, Paul Stanley of Kiss is coming to a gallery in the Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. He will be doing a meet and greet with the purchase of his art. The pieces start out at about $1500, so I'm sure that they're prints. This is his self-portrait, but you can see all of them at his website.

Ace Frehley in a commercial

You tell 'em, Ace!

A tribute to uMark Texreira

Two Auburn students sing a tribute to Mark Teixeira (pronounced ta-share-uh), the Atlanta Braves latest acquisition.

2nd Braves game this week!

We have about 20 minutes until the game starts. The Braves had a devastating loss to the Giants last night. Tonight they face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Atlanta has never lost a game I've attended, so hopefully that will continue tonight.

Life is Good in Round Rock

Blogged with Flock

Auburn schedule wallpaper

It's finally available for the 2007 season! Enjoy.

New pocket knife

For the past few years, I've been carrying a monogrammed Swiss Army Classic SD silver alox knife. It's very small and thin and I bought one for myself and several to give the groomsmen in our wedding. For a while now, I've been wanting a slightly larger knife that was still very small and thin, so last night, I bought a Benchmade Model 10610 (Stainless). I got it at a great Army/Navy Surplus store in Kennesaw.

2006 Polaris Hawkeye 4x4

This is a picture of the model of ATV I'm buying. My brother-in-law had one to sell, and I was looking for one, so it seemed like a good match.

I'll try to supply some pictures of my first ride (provided I am able to protect my enormous melon).

One Industries Kombat Monster Energy Helmet

This is the helmet I ordered this afternoon. There are two questions that might immediately jump to mind. Here are the answers to those two questions.

• I am purchasing an ATV for the heck of it
  
• My huge head is so large that a helmet must be special-ordered. If I only had a normal (or even an extra large) human-sized cranium, then I could have had my pick of 100 different models that were in stock.
  

Barry Bonds loses...

We went to see the Braves beat the Giants last night and that's what happened. Whenever Barry got to bat, some people screamed "Cheat-er!" or "Ster-oids!" or just booed. Others (like Amy and I) didn't react to Barry's appearance in Atlanta and others gave standing ovations whenever he stood at the plate.

There was a sign hanging from The Chop House that showed "758*" and there were people that were holding up asterisks and even wearing asterisks on their shirts. The asterisk, of course, indicate that the record over hometown hero Hank Aaron is tainted.

Is this how you spell heely?

Cheap wheels...

I buy tires at Discount Tire Company because they fix flats for free (even if you didn't buy them there). That's service! I took a flat there to be fixed and saw these 20" wheels for $75 each. Good deal, but my 17" tires are expensive enough.

Jock's & Jill's remove jersey.

Right around the time that Michael Vick was indicted, Amy and I sat at a table under a Michael Vick jersey. The other night, we went there with Anna and Jeff and that jersey has been removed and replaced with that of a different Falcon (sorry, I don't remember which one).

Auburn's Gandy gives up football

Auburn linebacker Steve Gandy is giving up football after sustaining his fourth concussion in eight months.

Bo knows ...

...that you can get awesome nachos at Jocks and Jills in Atlanta.

These seats are awesome...

Tonight, Anna and Jeff are treating us to the Braves game against the Colorado Rockies. We are in the third row behind home plate. Plus, it's Disco Night - I like the nightlife, I like to boogie...

USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll

The USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll just came out and Auburn is ranked 14th. The SEC has 6 teams in the top 20!

This dance video is awesome...

I know that most of you probably saw this weeks ago, but just in case...

Free Art !

This piece of art was sitting on the floor of the common room in our apartment complex that houses the garbage chute. I imagine that it was discarded when the lone wolf who owned it got married.

CONCERT.TV

On our new cable setup, we have a channel on ON DEMAND called CONCERT.TV – live.music.television. They have old and recent concerts that you can watch (with commercials). I watched an awesome Allman Brothers concert (a band that I've never been a big fan of) and a mediocre concert from Little Feat (a band I've loved for years). They also have some live footage on their website, so you might want to check that out.

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time : Rolling Stone

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time : Rolling Stone
There are a couple of obvious (to me) omissions:
Ace Frehley
Ted Nugent

Let me know your favorite guitarist that was left off the list...

Indigo Girls in Atlanta

Indigo Girls in Atlanta, originally uploaded by indigospike.

This weekend, our friend Kerri was in town to visit her Aunt Mary. The four of us went to see the Indigo Girls qt the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This was the second time I've seen them. If you've never seen them, I would highly recommend it.

It was close to two hours of Amy and Emily on the stage alone with their two guitars. They just rock like few acts I've ever seen.

A few words from Coach

Coach Tommy Tuberville of Auburn talks about the 2007 Season on 07/18/2007 at Atlanta Auburn Club's Annual Scholarship Evening & Silent Auction

A less than effective street signed

I scream. You scream...

We all scream for ice cream.

Apparently, even Spidey screams for ice scream.

Correspondence about the Break-In!

Saturday, I recieved the following in a post card.

This notice is to inform you that the report you made to the Atlanta Police Department is being investigated by the Zone 6 Investigations Unit.
It is important that you contact me as soon as possible regarding this report. Your assistance is necessary to bring this case to a successful conclusion.

Please call me between the hour of ___7____ and ___3___ any day except _Sun_ and _Mon_.

Esta noticia es para informarle que el reporte que usted hizo con la Policia de Atlant esta investigacion con el departmento de investigaciones en la Zone 6.
Es importante que usted(es) se comunique lo mas pronto posible sobre este reporte. Su asistencia es necesario para una conclusion prosperosa.

Por favor llame entre las horas de ____ y _____ cualquier dia menos ____ y ____

I couldn't call Sunday or Monday. Tuesday, I forgot to take the postcard with me, so I didn't have the number. Wednesday, I called and the investigator was out. I called Thursday and was finally able to speak to the investigator. She said they were just checking to see if I had any questions and to let me know the report number, which I already knew.

Why would the City of Atlanta waste taxpayers money by sending a stamped postcard and answering two unnecessary phone calls for no reason? If the postcard is deemed to be of some value, then they should change the wording to something like this:

This notice is to inform you that the report you made to the Atlanta Police Department has been sent to the Zone 6 Investigations Unit. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. Please note the Incident report is listed in the bottom left corner of the postcard.

Este aviso es informarte que el informe que hiciste al policía de Atlanta el departamento se ha enviado a la unidad de las investigaciones de la zona 6. Si tienes preguntas, sentirte por favor libre entrarme en contacto con. Observar por favor el informe de incidente se enumera en la esquina izquierda inferior de la postal.

Why just Spanish and English ? Why not Japanese ?

この通知はあなたがアトランタの警察に作ったレポートが地帯6の調査の単位に送られたこと知らせることである。 質問を有したら、私に連絡すること自由に感じなさい。 以下の事項に注意して下さい:事件レポートは郵便はがきの左下のコーナーにリストされている。

Shattered. Shattered

This morning, I walked out to my truck and saw this. I have to park on the street in our current residence. This is the second window I will have replaced since moving here 8.5 months ago. The new place has a very secured parking garage, so this should be the last one.

Georgia Roots and Music Festival

Amy and I are in Hiawassee, GA watching bluegrass band after bluegrass band. We are here with one of Amy's coworkers.

We saw a canine Frisbee demonstration which was awesome. I have some video that I hope to post later of that.

It ain't like it used to be...

This is one of the things that David's Bridal carries. I would only know that because Amy needed to get a bridesmaid dress for Jeff and Anna's wedding.

My friend, Ken Golden, once said that time never passed as slowly as when you were waiting on a pizza from Chanello's. Ken, I feel sure that you never went to David's Bridal.

It's time for Plymouth to return

I've been a fan of Dodge and Plymouth since I was a kid. Dad didn't buy anything but Dodges or Plymouth's since I was born (except for a Buick Century which was sort of a one-time deal). I've had one Chevrolet, twp Plymouths and five Dodges. This guy has written a lucid editorial on why the Plymouth badge should be brought back. I wholeheartedly agree.
Allpar Weblogs » It's time for Plymouth to return

The view from our new apartment!

We just signed the lease and got the keys to our new apartment in Midtown. This place is so 'off the chain' that the chain itself is just a distant memory.

Flashlight Improvement

I saw this on Lifehacker. He takes a $5 flashlight and hacks it to be superior to a $95 flashlight. I think I'm gonna try it...

$10 Police Flashlight Hack! - video powered by Metacafe

Spaten Optimator

This was a very large pint. Amy drank 2 Strongbows in the same time as my one Spaten Optimator (that's just fun to say).

A grave for A Graves

A grave for A Graves, originally uploaded by eschulz.

Last night, we drove through the Oakland cemetery and I saw this mausoleum. I asked Amy to pull over so I could take a picture of it. It was only after she had stopped that I saw that it had the appropriate name.